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EatRight Ontario Paid for by the Government of Ontarioontario.ca/eatright Call 1-877-510-510-2 and talk to a Registered Dietitian for free. Acton/Georgetown, Friday, February 1, 2008 9 The Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year for 2007 is Giant Tiger, located at 8 Main Street N., Acton. Owner operator Alec Boyd was delighted to be named, but even more surprised. I was very surprised when I was told, said Boyd, And very happy about it. Halton Hills is a very big area, so to be named Business of the Year is quite an honour for us. Giant Tiger opened in Acton in September of 2003, and Boyd had been involved with the wholly-owned Canadian compa- ny for two years prior to opening his own store. When the oppor- tunity came in Acton, he jumped at the chance, being the first Giant Tiger to open in the GTA. To date, there are 183 Giant Tiger locations from coast to coast, many of them in the Ottawa area, where the company originates. We came into Acton to fill a gap, said Boyd, The people of Acton in this end of town needed a place to buy socks, clothes and groceries, so it seemed like a good place to start. The store boasts a diversified line of stock, from a fairly exten- sive selection of groceries and frozen foods, dairy and deli, as well as a lot of seasonal merchan- dise. Our fashion department, called GT Boutique, is probably the strength of our store, said Boyd, We keep up, quite quick- ly, with the latest trends and have fresh stock coming in all the time. Opening Giant Tiger, Boyd also provided employment to the town. We have 32 employees, said Boyd, and 10 of them are full- time. Boyd, who lives locally, enjoys giving back to the town who has welcomed his business with open arms. He has sponsored the Acton Agricultural Society Fair Parade for the past four years, and last year Giant Tiger was a major sponsor to the Acton Agricultural Society Building Fund, donating $10,000 toward the cost of the new building in Prospect Park. Boyd also sponsors many sports teams baseball, hockey, lacrosse, figure skating and soc- cer, as well as the Acton Aquaducks swim team. He works closely with the Acton Food Bank, donating food to the facility, as well as gift cards which are distributed to the less fortunate as well. In spite of the fact he owns the business, Boyd isnt afraid to get his hands dirty. He can often be found out on the floor, stock- ing shelves or unloading trucks out back, working hand-in-hand with his employees. Im a sociable person, said Boyd, I wouldnt have much luck working from a cubicle. I think its a personality trait I enjoy working retail, having an opportunity to interact with my associates and the customers its what I love doing. Junior Achievement Volunteer of the Year When Simon Willis learned he had been chosen as the Junior Achievement Volunteer of the Year, he was both surprised and pleased. The manufacturing engineer at CPI has been a driving force in the Junior Achievement (JA) pro- gram for more than five years, volunteering his time to share his business and manufacturing experience with kids in the Grade 5 JA program, entitled Our Business World. Its my opportunity to give back to the people in Georgetown, said Willis. I grew up in Georgetown, I attend- ed elementary and high school here, and played soccer here. I felt it was time to give back some of my experience. In the Grade 5 program, Willis has the students set up companies, produce or manufac- ture items, and learn all about the steps in manufacturing and marketing as commodity. I use ball point pens as a tool, said Willis. I have my son disassemble 30 pens, and I take the separate parts to the students and divide the class into small groups, then have them set up a way of reassembling the pens as an example of manufacturing. Its quite interesting to see how their efficiency improves as each group has an opportunity to become more efficient. Willis has taught the program at three local schools St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Brigid and Georgetown District Christian School. In addition he is working on a Grade 6 program in the future. Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce president Jamie Schumacker (who is also chair of the Junior Achievement Comm- ittee,) speaks highly of Willis. Simon is passionate about the Grade 5 JA Program, said Schumacker, There is no one in Halton Hills who has delivered more of these Grade 5 programs than Simon. When we look to train new volunteers for the Grade 5 program, we call upon Simon to run these training ses- sions he gladly does it on his own time in the evenings. Civic Pride Award When it comes to civic pride, the Chamber of Commerce had to look no further than Christ the King Catholic High School, with the accomplishments of the Club Green environmental club. Led by Grade 12 student Emily Dimytosh, and her science teacher Shari Typer, the group of more than 30 students have tack- led a number of environmental issues, and made the town a bet- ter place to live in the process. We started organizing the group in November of 2006, after I attended the E-POWER confer- ence, put on by Protect Our Water and Environmental Resources (POWER), said Dimytosh, The conference talked about what we could do, as schools, to protect the Niagara Escarpment. That really awak- ened Ms. Typer and I to the need for more environmental con- sciousness leadership at this school. The club was organized, beginning with 10-15 students, and from that, they learned of the ECO School certification, which the Halton Catholic Disrict School Board was a partner. We decided because that cer- tification encompasses waste minimization practices, energy conservation, professional devel- opment and environmental edu- cation, we thought going after that (certification) would really round out our activities, so we started pursuing it, said Dimytosh. It gave a focus to the club itself, added Typer, And it grew from that. Chamber announces Business Achievement Awards TED BROWN Staff Writer Alec Boyd, owner/operator of Giant Tiger in Acton was thrilled to learn Giant Tiger had been named the Halton Hills Chamber of Commerces Business of the Year earlier this week. Photos by Ted Brown Christ the King Club Green president Emily Dimytosh (left) and teacher Shari Typer, display one of the Blue Boxes that have been added to the school as one of the simple incentives implemented by Club Green to reduce the garbage. Photo by Ted Brown Simon Willis was selected as the Junior Achievement Volunteer of the Year Award winner by the Halton Hil ls Chamber of Commerce. See CHAMBER, pg. 16